After another miserable day at school, Willow Park walked through the forest that separated Hexside from her home in Bonesborough.
First, Amity humiliated her during class by showing off her natural talent in abomination magic, receiving ridicule from Professor Hermonculus for not being like his "top student."
Then, Boscha and her gang stalked and bullied her and Augustus in between classes. Willow wouldn't have minded the harassment so long as her best friend was left out of it.
And lastly, Willow failed her test to find a partner that was compatible with her. She was the only weapon witch in school without a wielder.
Weapon witches don't look any different from the other people who live on the Boiling Isles. What makes them different is that they can change into standard weapons, like a sword or an axe. In Willow's case, she can turn into a glaive. The only way for a user and their weapon to become a good match is to forge a bond through a balance of positive and negative emotions to achieve harmony. If successful, the wielder and weapon's magic will create a feedback loop that enhances their magical capabilities. A little over a year has passed, and Willow still has yet to find someone who can connect with her and use her properly. She has accepted that she may never find perfect harmony and reach her full potential. But that didn't mean she liked it.
"Ugh! I hate when Amity, Boscha, everyone calls me Half-a-Witch Willow!" Willow shouted as her eyes started glowing green. "I hate making abominations! I hate getting bad grades! I can't stand this anymore!" Giant thorny roots erupted around and surrounded Willow, growing and writhing angrily.
Without realizing it, one snaked out and grabbed someone by the ankle. The roots continued to snake out, seemingly of their own volition, grasping and wrapping around their whole body. "Hey, put me down!" They shrieked as the root dropped them on the ground behind Willow, who turned and glared at them, her eyes still glowing.
She finally snaps out of it when she realizes what is happening. "What have I done?" She says as she starts to freak out. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! I'm so sorry!" She leaned forward worriedly at the stranger. She cast a spell to make the roots still wrapped around the person's leg retreat as the other vines writhing around her fell.
The person was a boy around her age, a scrawny witch with a fair complexion, a slightly hooked nose, dark magenta eyes, a noticeable scar on his cheek, a gap between his front teeth, and bags under his eyes. He wore golden armor with gray and brown clothing underneath, concealed mainly by an ivory hooded cloak with a triangle clasp, which meant, "You're with the Emperor's Coven!"
Willow sincerely thought this was going to be the end. She attacked one of the Emperor's Coven's scouts. Her life was officially over; she would be forced to spend the rest of it locked away in the Conformatorium. She would never again see her Augustus, nor her dad and papa.
"How did you just do that?" Willow was surprised at that being the first thing she was asked. The young man stood and rubbed his head, only for his eyes to widen, and he looked around frantically. "Where's my mask? No one's supposed to see me without my mask!"
Willow spotted a pointed two-faceted mask with a thin slot across it on the ground and picked it up. "Here." She handed it to him, only for him to grab it from her hands. "I am so sorry. I lost my temper, and I—"
"Performed an impressive display of plant magic." Again, Willow was surprised by how he was acting toward her. Willow thought he would be mad at her; instead, he was expressing himself in a way she had never seen before. "Aside from Coven Head Snapdragon, I've never seen anyone with such raw power." He put the mask on. "Unless you're a wild witch."
Willow gasped. "No, sir… I… I'm not… I… I just..."
"Relax, I'm just messing with you. You're still a student, not yet bound to a coven. Though, I'd like to know why you're wearing abomination colors when you should be in the plant track.
"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't my choice?"
"Overprotective family?"
Willow nodded. Everyone on the Isles knew how respected the Abomination Coven was and how flexible the study could be to find job opportunities and as a form of self-defense. Most witchlings were forced into the course for one of those reasons, whether they had the talent for it.
"It isn't going to be everyone's cup of apple blood. Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a job to do. And you should get home to your folks ASAP, especially before the sun goes down."
Willow noticed the concern in his tone. "Why?"
"I'm on the hunt for a dangerous wild witch who was last seen in these woods. He's a weapon witch responsible for the death of scouts, guards, and civilians. Emperor Belos has ordered me to bring him in," The scout pulled out a collapsible staff that matched his color scheme. Instead of a palisman atop it, there was a red jewel. "Through any means necessary." Willow and the scout heard rustling from behind the bushes as something leaped at the girl. The boy pushed her out of the way, and they got a good look at their assailant. "It's him!"
The witch was monster-like, with an elongated body, disproportionately long, skinny arms and legs, and a pot belly. He had gray skin and wore a strange-looking outfit with a few scant straps across his torso and waist. His face looked like a mask stitched onto pale, sweaty flesh, with a pointed, conical orange nose, angry-looking beady eyeholes, brown hair, and a wide mouth with razor-sharp teeth.
"Rip-n-tear." The witch said and traced two spell circles, causing a flash of light to envelop his fingers, transforming them into razor claws. "Rip-n-tear!"
The scout got to his feet and took a fighting stance, his staff held with both hands. "I'll distract him; you get out here!" He ordered Willow.
"I can help!" Willow insisted, standing up.
"This is the Emperor's Coven's concern, not yours. Get somewhere safe and leave him to me!"
"I can do something," Willow demanded. "Let me—" Before she could finish, the wild witch charged at her and the scout with all four of his sharp claws extended, ready to kill them both.
A red aura surrounded the scout and instantly closed the distance between him and the criminal. He moved so fast; no, it was more like he teleported. He pointed his staff forward, causing a magical lance to blast out of it, and struck the wild witch with enough force to hurl him back several meters against a tree.
Before he could continue his attack, the witch got out of the way and quickly returned with a counterattack that knocked the scout back. He regained his balance in a few seconds but wasn't fast enough to be caught off guard by an underhanded swipe. While the scout flew across the ground with a gash across his chest, if it weren't for his armor, he'd be leaving a trail of blood, but it only seemed to fuel his need to bring the wild witch down. He quickly got back up and retaliated with a few magical attacks. He swung his staff like a sword, sending magical crescents with enough force to cut down most opponents without effort. Each slash was precise to cause the wild witch as much pain as possible to push him toward surrender.
However, the scout found himself locked in a pincer attack as the wild witch's strike sent his staff flying out of his hands and too far out of his reach to grab before the criminal could finish him off. Before the witch could strike him with his razored fingers, Willow sprang into action, running to the scout while tracing a spell circle. A flash of light enveloped her body as she morphed into her glaive form. The scout grabbed it instinctually and blocked the wild witch's next attack. The scout twisted himself out of the way, then threw all his might into one large overhead strike, smacking his opponent away with the flat of the polearm's blade.
"Wait, you're a weapon witch?" The scout asked Willow.
"You sound surprised," Willow answered.
"With what you displayed earlier, I thought you'd be a wielder."
A silence followed. "You… you can hear me? And… you're holding me."
The boy gave the glaive a queer look. "Yeah, why?"
While transformed, weapon witches lack a mouth for obvious reasons, so they instead communicate with their wielder through a sort of telepathy. But it's not mind reading like an oracle; to a wielder, all weapons have an aura, a presence; it's more like… speaking to the soul. However, it will only work if the weapon and wielder are compatible. The same goes for holding. Each wielder has a different aura and set of preferences. If the weapon isn't compatible with the wielder, neither can hold it without feeling uncomfortable.
"I can't believe it!" She said in a lifting voice. "You're the first person who's compatible with me!"
"Rip-n-tear!" The wild witch roared, regaining the scout's attention, as he charged at him.
The scout took several jumps back to avoid the slashes, but the wild witch refused to give up his pursuit. "How about we deal with him first." The scout grunted.
"Right, sorry," Willow replied.
The scout spun the long-handled blade around, parrying a slash and putting the advantage in hand, but stumbled backward. He went on the offensive, launching a barrage of quick strikes against the wild witch that would surely overwhelm him. The wild witch picked up his movements in advance, parrying the strikes midair. He struck back with ruthless slashes—one strike to the scout's legs, another to his hands, and another to his chest. Perfectly timed defensive parries blocked all from Willow. The scout had tossed all his strength into the blow. He barely managed to throw the criminal off his balance. Shifting back and forth, both combatants continued their flurry of attacks. It was a wild fight!
"We gotta end this." The scout said, panting and sweating. Willow could even feel the sweat on his hands through his gloves. "We have to take him down before he decides to leave."
"We need to do a resonant spell," Willow suggested.
"We can't." The scout replied. "And you can probably sense why." To cast a resonant spell, all the wielder witch has to do is focus on the weapon witch's aura—their soul—and pour all their magic into casting one combined spell. Magic that the young coven scout was unfortunately born without. "It's impossible to do one because a half-a-witch like me can't give you the necessary boost. Even the most potent witch can't cast a powerful resonant spell without that extra magic."
Willow went silent upon hearing the scout call himself what she had been called almost all her life. After he finished speaking, she responded, "Well, who decided that?"
The scout looked at the polearm's blade and swore he could see a reflection of the girl within the metal as he asked, "What?"
"I've been told that I'd always be incompatible. Well, who decided that? You believe you can't perform a resonant spell because you lack magic. Well, who decided that?"
"But—"
"But nothing. If fighting a wild witch with you has taught me anything, it's that we are the ones who decide."
The scout stared at the reflection of Willow in silence. Only after a brief moment, he gained the strength of heart to embrace her words fully and give an affirming nod. "Then it's now or never."
The scout widened his stance and gripped the polearm tightly. The weapon radiated with a magical green aura, traveling up the scout's arms before enveloping his entire body. A small blue light glowed on the left of the scout's chest, and the green aura expanded like a roaring fire. As he floated a few inches off the ground, the scout felt like a green apparition. His eyes widened with amazement at his new power; it was as if he had slapped on a hundred power glyphs. This was it, a magical resonance. The scout felt every life force around him, and all the force of nature was at his command. This experience only lasted a few seconds for the scout before all the increased power was taken in by Willow.
"Rip-n-tear!" The wild witch shouted once more and came at his prey.
"Now!" "Now!" Willow and the scout shouted in unison.
Knowing what needed to be done, on instinct, the scout spun the glaive and grazed the grass with the blade. The blade of his glaive, aimed in the right direction, could slay his foe. Willow forced her newly increased power into the ground, following the weapon's movement. A flood of vines was let loose. They are all more extensive and far more significant in numbers than anything Willow could have cast on her own. The vines were alive and snarling, curling their way toward their adversary. Each strand of the abundant vegetation was taut, and they passed over them like a whip before whipping against their target. The wild witch's body was torn apart by the vines, which tore deep into his muscle, tendon, and bone, shredding and splintering as they did so and letting out a piercing scream of pain.
The glaive glowed and ejected from the scout's grip, transforming back into Willow's witchling form. She looked at the display of what was left of the slain wild witch, and instead of feeling a deep sense of pride with what her plants accomplished, she looked… saddened. "I... I didn't... I—"
The scout managed to piece together that she wasn't used to using magic to take a life; she hadn't realized how deadly she was until now and felt terrible about it. "Hey, it was either him or us." He said, trying to reassure her.
"You make it sound simple, but I guess it has to be when you're an Emperor's Coven scout."
The scout looked at the girl and then removed his mask, damning the rules. "My name is Hunter." Willow blinked and looked at the scout… Hunter's unconcealed eyes. "I know it may not always seem like it, but it's never easy for anyone in the coven to have this happen." Hunter looked at the wild witch's corpse. "If we didn't stop him, he would've continued to hurt many innocent people."
"You're right. I know you're right." But it did not change how Willow felt.
"I can walk you home if you want." Hunter walked over to his mechanical staff… or what remained of it. "I'd fly you home, but—"
"I'd like that, thank you." Willow nodded and led the way through the woods as Hunter followed the girl closely.
Willow and Hunter finally arrived in Bonesborough and stopped at a house Willow identified as her home. "Well," Willow began. "Here it is." She cast her gaze over at Hunter, breaking into a shy smile. "Thank you for not leaving me alone."
"You helped save my life," Hunter replied. "If you hadn't stepped in, I might not be here. And after what happened, it's the least I could do." Hunter slipped his mask back on. "I gotta get back to the castle now; the emperor's probably waiting for my report. Try to stay out of trouble."
Willow nodded. "I'll try."
Hunter bowed at her before turning around and walking away. Willow watched him until he disappeared into the crowd of people. Willow closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and thinking about everything that had happened before approaching the front door and entering the house. "Dad! Papa! I'm home!" She announced.
Her parents came out of the kitchen, likely in the middle of preparing dinner, to greet her. "There you are, Willow." Her dad, Gilbert, said, with relief in his voice. He had light skin, greenish-tinted hair like Willow, and dark blue eyes covered by a pair of rectangular glasses.
"Where have you been, young lady?" Her papa, Harvey, loudly questioned her with both irritation and worry. He had brown skin, dark brown hair, purple eyes, a large beard, and a bald head beside the tuft of hair towards the front of his head. "We've been waiting for you."
Her dad took out his scroll. "We got worried when you didn't come home on time and called, but you didn't answer. We were about to send a crow to pick you up."
Tears welled in Willow's eyes as she ran over to give her parents a big hug, taking them by surprise. Her papa, the tallest of her immediate family, knelt at his little girl's eye level. "Willow, what's wrong? Did something happen at school?"
"No, Papa," Willow said with a sniffle. "Not at school." Her heart started to beat faster, and she began to sweat a little. At first, she was going to tell them the whole truth, but something inside her told her that she should not do that. Instead, she shared a slightly different but truthful version of the story with them.
She began by explaining how she lost her temper and sprouted plants that attacked one of the Emperor's Coven's scouts and his weapon partner. She thought she would be arrested, but the scout ignored her because he was hunting a dangerous wild witch who ambushed them. The scout fought back but was overwhelmed until his partner stepped in and transformed. They fought back and forth, evading strikes and attacking back. But the wielder and weapon had to take the wild witch down; they needed to perform a resonant spell. She saw the combined power rip apart the wild witch, hearing him scream as he…
"Oh, Willow." Her dad said sympathetically, hugging her, knowing no one should have seen that, especially not her.
"After that," Willow continued, about to conclude the tale. "The scout and his partner walked with me the rest of the way home."
"They better have, after what they put you through." Her papa said sternly.
"Harv, if those scouts didn't arrive when they did, who knows what that wild witch could've done to Willow." Her dad reasoned. "As far as I'm concerned, they're heroes."
"But they could've at least gotten her out of there first."
"Why don't we just sit down for dinner, and we'll talk about this more later."
"I'm not hungry," Willow said lowly, breaking the hug from her parents before walking away. "I just want to be alone right now." She left her dads to look at her in concern.
Willow changed from her school uniform, took a shower, put on her pajamas, and went to bed. She didn't fall asleep right away. She rolled over on her side, curled up into her blankets, and placed a hand on her forehead. Her thoughts were crashing like the waves of the Boiling Sea, trying to keep them out. The ones she didn't want, at least. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, still thinking about Hunter and everything that had happened today. She and Hunter were a solid team and would make it out together if permanently partnered. She sighed and turned onto her side, trying to push Hunter from her mind, as being his partner would never happen; it was a one-time thing.
It was a little bit after the start of Willow's first-period class, Abomination 101, and the beginning of another miserable day at school. Professor Hermonculus was a short, stumpy creature with pointed ears, a round mouth that looked like a beak, green hair that reached his chin, and a big bald spot on the top of his head. His sad-looking abomination was carrying him as he watched the class.
"Mary." He pointed at a student, a girl with violet curly hair, black skin, and a pair of ram-like horns on her head. "Get up here."
The student replied, "Yes, Professor Hermonculus. Okay, I can do this," Mary wheeled her cauldron containing her abomination to the front of the room and up a platform. "Abomination, Rise!" She commanded, and a crudely made sludge golem with eight feet sticking out of it in various places rose from its pot, moaning. It staggered around the stage, bumping into furniture and knocking things over.
"Hmm." The professor examined the golem for a minute before giving his verdict: "Too many toenails in unexpected places. Fail! Pathetic!" Mary and her abomination deflated as she wheeled it off the platform, sighing.
"The worst abominations are all of you!" Professor Hermonculus pointed at all his students. "Everyone gets extra homework for a month if the next abomination is a failure!"
"Extra homework?" "Not again!" A gaggle of students bemoaned.
The professor clears his throat and says, "And the next one to come up is—"
"Excuse me, Sir." So spoke the girl with two-toned hair, comprised of shades of aquamarine with brown hair—her natural hair color—visible at the roots, sitting in front of Willow. The class's top student, Amity Blight. "I am ready to present my abomination. Rise!" On command, her golem rose from its pot, groaning as it struck a pose, followed by a brief period of cheers and clapping.
"I've always saved the best for last, Amity." The professor chuckled, and a hush fell over the class. "You'll have to wait your turn. How about..." He pointed his stubby finger at "Willow."
"Not Half-a-Witch." "Great." "Homework for a month." A bunch of the students whined, making Willow feel even more pressured and embarrassed.
But before she could stand up, the school's speaker phoned, and the voice of Principal Bump said, "Ms. Willow Park, please report to my office immediately." It was as if the Titan himself had answered her prayer.
Professor Hermonculus huffed and then glared at Willow. "Whatever his reason for calling you is, it will not excuse you from this. I expect you to be back here to present your abomination."
"Yes, Professor," Willow hastily replied as she hurried to the principal's office quickly and curiously, hoping to know what this was all about. While she may not have done well in her classes, Willow was far from a "bad student" and had never been called to see Principal Bump until today. Willow was genuinely worried and with good reason. With everything she had been through this school year, there was a good chance it had to do with her grades. She didn't want to get suspended or, worse, expelled.
Willow took a deep breath and prepared for the worst as she opened the door to Principal Bump's office. She entered the office and immediately spotted Bump behind his desk. Most of the older man's face was obscured by an imp-like demon, giving him the appearance of being consumed by it. He wore his long black gown with a gold cape and a blue stole draped over his shoulders, the traditional academic dress of principals.
"Hello, Ms. Park." He welcomed her in a way that was to be expected. "Please, sit." Bump gestured to the chair, and Willow sat down, still nervous. "You don't have to be scared. You're not in trouble." Bump waited until Willow looked at him before continuing. "I called you into my office because of this." Principal Bump pulled out an opened letter from his desk and showed it to her; it had the Emperor's Coven's seal; and read the following:
"Dear Principal Hieronymus Bump of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics,
This letter is written regarding one of your students, Willow Park.
Yesterday, Ms. Park unknowingly performed plant magic before a scout. They reported her skills to have been exceptional, even comparing her to Coven Head Snapdragon. We request that Ms. Park be transferred from the Abomination Track to the Plant Track, as it doesn't take an oracle to see her untapped potential. She has the makings to become one of the most powerful witches on the Isles, maybe even a Coven Head someday.
The Emperor's Coven will even throw some funding your way if you take this request under consideration.
Sincerely,
The Golden Guard."
Willow realized that Hunter wasn't just any scout for the Emperor's Coven but the Golden Guard, the emperor's right hand. Wait, she was compatible with the Golden Guard! She fought alongside Emperor Belos' right hand. "Well, this is a prank, right?" Willow asked.
"No, this is very real, Ms. Park. And if everything in this letter is valid, I would like a demonstration. It's no secret that you are struggling with your classes, so I'm allowing you to change tracks. You have until the end of this period to decide."
Willow went silent for a moment before composing herself. She got up from her chair and walked to the center of the room. She closed her eyes and deeply breathed, silently praying, "Please work." Her eyes opened, glowing green as the entire school began to shake. She could feel it working. The magic flowed through her, growing every second as thorny vines shot out from the floor, reaching the ceiling. They broke through doors and eventually targeted Principal Bump, sending him to the roof and pinning him there. Willow's eyes flickered back to normal, and she realized what she had done. Vines no doubt now cover the entire inside of the school, curling around pillars and reaching from the bottommost floor to the absolute ceiling. Pink petals fall above Bump's office, and several vines have flowers. "Oh, no! Principal Bump, I'm sorry!"
"For what?" Bump asked in awe. "This is remarkable. I never knew you had such talent."
"Really?" Willow practically glowed with excitement.
"Yes, I will work on getting you transferred as soon as I get down from here and conclude one more piece of business; the other reason I called you here." Someone Willow was not expecting to see entered the room from another door. It was Hunter, garbed in a Potion's Track uniform. He whistled, impressed at the display of Willow's powers. "This is Hunter," Bump introduced while cutting vines with an abomination blade. "He's enrolling today at Hexside. Since you're the only weapon witch without a wielder, I figured we would see if you two are compatible."
"So, you want me to be his weapon?"
"That will depend." Bump sliced the last remaining vine and landed on his feet. "We will continue this in the Paranoratorium."
Willow and Hunter stood on the theater stage; the room was empty, save for the seat reserved for Principal Bump, holding his clipboard. "You two may begin when ready." He spoke.
The two witchlings took their positions, turning to face each other. Hunter extended a hand to Willow. She looked at it hesitantly before taking it. She cast the spell to transform herself into her glaive form. Hunter spun her around a few moments to familiarize himself with her again. "I hope you're ready," Hunter said. He swung the blade horizontally to the ground, followed by four well-timed slashes. He used the polearm to vault himself into the air, then tapped into their shared magical reserves to dash in a flash of light.
"What are you doing here, Hunter?" Willow communicated to him.
Hunter replied quietly enough that the principal couldn't hear him, "I didn't like how things ended last time."
Hunter replied quietly enough that the principal couldn't hear him, "I didn't like how things ended last time." Hunter thrust the glaive forward while Bump continued grading and jumped back with a flip. "So, I wanted to get you into the class you wanted and deserved."
"So, why did you also enroll at Hexside? You're with the Emperor's Coven. You're the Golden Guard."
"I know, but there are some things the Emperor's Coven doesn't teach us." Hunter swept the polearm around. "Things that I want to learn and experience for myself. I don't know how long I will be able to, but... let's say I have a friend who'll cover for me while I'm here. And maybe because... I want to be your partner."
"But why me out of other witches you could be compatible with?"
"You're not like other witches, Willow. I don't know how to describe it, but when we fought together, I... I felt like my real self for the first time."
Willow's reflection appeared in the glaive, looking at Hunter with empathy. It seemed Hunter lived a lonely life in the Emperor's Coven, an outcast amongst his peers, not belonging to any group despite sharing the same coven. She might be the first real friend Hunter ever had.
"I've seen enough!" Principal Bump announced, putting his clipboard away as Hunter stopped mid-swing. "You may return to normal, Ms. Park."
The glaive glowed and ejected from Hunter's grip and transformed back into Willow. "How did we do?" She asked.
"I rarely see such compatibility between weapons and wielders. You two are meant for each other. Congratulations, Ms. Park. You and Hunter have passed. I will work on making your new schedules for today. You two will be partners from here on out, learning together and strengthening your bond."
Willow put her hands up and smiled with a look of absolute glee. "We did it!" She hugged Hunter, enveloping his slim frame with her arms. "Thank you, Hunter."
"Wh… what is this?" Hunter replied, his face turning red.
"It's called a hug."
For the first time, Willow felt sure about her future here at Hexside and her growth as a witch. With Hunter by her side, she thought they could take on whatever the Isles planned to throw at them.
"Soul Eater" is one of my favorite manga, and I wanted to combine it with Huntlow. Simple as that. This is a one-shot I've wanted to write for a while but couldn't find the time until recently. I was trying to get this out before "Thanks to Them," but that didn't end up happening. So, I wanted to get it finished before Halloween instead. I don't know if I'll continue this story in the foreseeable future; I'm finally happy to have gotten my idea out there. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and have a Happy Halloween.
Feedback is appreciated: Please favorite, follow, and leave a review.